It’s that time of year when holiday tunes ring forth from every store, elevator, playlist, and television show. “Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go.” It’s a great lyric filled with nostalgia and recalls images of a loving nuclear family gathering for food and celebration.
People labor long hours to recreate those childhood memories – shopping, cooking, wrapping, and traveling to spend time with extended family. Multiple celebratory events such as school, office, and social holiday gatherings load the December calendar, packed to the gills with things to do – ugly sweaters to create, gifts to give, cookies to bake, trees to trim, and lights to hang.
Work does not stop, and the labor related to employment also fills the calendar. For some people, the workload increases to cover the absence of teammates who are away on well-deserved PTO, and for those in the supply chain and delivery business, there is no time to pause for more than a breath. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?
Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher born in 544 BC, and therefore never had to worry about the frenetic demands we place on modern-day holidays. He is quoted as saying, “No man steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.”Heraclitus’ quote is deep and powerful, and it has always resonated with me like an acknowledgment of the constancy of change. In this season, and with the added constraints of the last two years, the quote seems even more apropos.
As the restrictions of the pandemic appear to be waning, and we are coming out of what feels like a national chrysalis, we look toward the gathering with extended family with a sense of longing for what was. But for some reason, the family of puzzle pieces never quite fits together the way they once did. To apply Heraclitus’ great quote in my own words – there is no return to seasons past. I am different from who I was. My extended family members have changed, as has the family unit. And the world we inhabit is different. We are all constantly evolving.
Change is the only constant. I encourage you to embrace the honesty of change and look to whatever form of celebration you choose with an eye towards what is without the expectation of recreating what was. It is good to remember the past while we enjoy the present. Tomorrow will bring change yet again.
Not the same river. Not the same man.